Dear ASCIT Member,

If you're considering dropping your ASCIT membership, I urge you to reconsider. There is no worse time to abandon your student government, and I hope I can show you why.

It has become clear to many students that Caltech administration has been slowly eroding student involvement in the decision-making process at Caltech. Decisions involving parking, health insurance, fire, alcohol policy, and others at the beginning of this year were all made without student input. After protests, letters, meetings, and petitions throughout this year, many of these decisions have been revised or are currently under review.

Now we are entering a phase when many new committees will be formed and student representatives will be needed. In the past, Caltech administration has handpicked students for their committees, but they have often been misguided in their efforts. For example, on the Task Force on Undergraduate Residence Life, several students were selected for the sole purpose of presenting anti-House views. Along with the IHC, the ASCIT BoD has stressed that students need to be able to select their own representatives.

The excuse given by the administration for handpicking representatives to committees has been that the IHC and/or ASCIT don't adequately represent the student body. It is true that this has been partly fueled by past ASCIT Presidents taking anti-House stances on issues, but I have never done so. The reason the administration is now more receptive to our selecting our own representatives is that I have supported the IHC and I have stood beside them on these issues. In order for Caltech to respect what we say, the student body needs to stand in unison as well. Dropping ASCIT membership would send a message to Caltech that we're not capable of choosing our own representatives, and they will start choosing for us.

When you leave the Associated Students, you are abandoning your fellow students and you make the student position weaker. You may see it as a simple personal decision, but the ramifications spread throughout the student body. You may just want to save yourself $20, but please be wary of taking unfair advantage of those around you. ASCIT stands for representation to the Faculty Board, Alumni Board, Board of Trustees, Caltech administration, and on Faculty and Institute Committees. If you drop your membership, you stand against those things, and you jeopardize those privileges for all other students.

Please don't drop ASCIT membership; not at this crucial time when committees are forming on alcohol policy, fire policy, the next Student-Faculty Conference, and the spending of $3 million of the Moore grant. This is a time for students to band together - I hope you won't let us down.

Sincerely,

Ted Jou
ASCIT President